Convergent findings suggest that an altered neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor system may contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Nicotine consumption through cigarette smoking might represent a form of self-medication in schizophrenia as nicotine reduces cognitive and physiological deficits in schizophrenia. The present study aims to investigate how nicotine affects attentional and executive schizophrenia endophenotypes and how genetic polymorphisms relating to the cholinergic system might play a role in inter-individual differences in the magnitude of nicotine effects.